SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2006--Conforma Therapeutics Corporation today announced the appointment of John E. Crawford to the newly created position of chief financial officer.

Mr. Crawford has been an executive officer in early-stage life science and technology firms since 1981. He was the first full-time executive at International Genetic Engineering, Inc. and the founding president of San Diego-based Corvas International, Inc., shepherding both of these firms through listings on NASDAQ. During his 12-year tenure at Corvas, Mr. Crawford raised over $200 million from equity investors and corporate alliances in his capacity as its chief financial officer. Since 1998, Mr. Crawford has been a consultant, executive officer and board member for several venture-backed and privately funded technology firms.

"John brings to Conforma his extensive experience on financing and managing biopharmaceutical companies," stated Lawrence C. Fritz, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Conforma. "He has the exceptional combination of internal operational skills together with an outstanding track record and reputation on Wall Street."

As chief financial officer at Conforma, Mr. Crawford will be responsible for financial strategy and, operationally, will manage relationships with investors, human resources, information technology, and the company's infrastructure, as well as finance.

Mr. Crawford holds a BS degree in Mathematical Sciences from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

About Conforma Therapeutics

Conforma Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, is focused on the design and development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer. Conforma's internal discovery efforts have been focused on drugs that target the cellular HSP90 family of molecular "chaperones" that control protein shape or conformation, including that of key signaling molecules involved in the growth and survival of tumor cells. HSP90-directed drugs selectively induce the degradation of these cancer-promoting proteins, leading to tumor cell death. Conforma is conducting Phase I clinical trials with its lead HSP90 product, CNF1010, for the treatment of cancer and has recently initiated Phase I clinical testing of its second, orally administered HSP90 product, CNF2024. Conforma's third product candidate, Calsed(TM) (CNF3140), is a third generation anthracycline and the world's first purely synthetic anthracycline anticancer drug. Already marketed in Japan by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Conforma plans to initiate phase II testing of Calsed(TM) in small cell lung cancer in the US and Europe in the first half of 2006. Further information regarding Conforma Therapeutics is available at www.conformacorp.com.